Editing Bill Finger (section)

====Batman====
Early the following year, National Comics' success with the seminal superhero [[Superman]] in ''[[Action Comics]]'' prompted editors to scramble for similar heroes.<ref>Nobleman, ''Bill the Boy Wonder'', p. 5 (unnumbered).</ref> In response, Kane conceived the "Bat-Man". Finger recalled Kane
{{Blockquote | style=font-size:100% |...&nbsp;had an idea for a character called 'Batman', and he'd like me to see the drawings. I went over to Kane's, and he had drawn a character who looked very much like Superman with kind of&nbsp;... reddish tights, I believe, with boots&nbsp;... no gloves, no gauntlets&nbsp;... with a small [[domino mask]], swinging on a rope. He had two stiff wings that were sticking out, looking like bat wings. And under it was a big sign&nbsp;... BATMAN.<ref name="jim" />}}

Finger offered such suggestions as giving the character a cowl with pointed bat-ears instead of the domino mask, a cape instead of wings, adding gloves, and changing the red sections of the costume to gray.<ref name="Archives 3" /><ref>Daniels, pp. 21 and 23.</ref> Finger later said his suggestions to have his eyes covered by white lenses was influenced by [[Lee Falk]]'s popular ''[[The Phantom]]'', a [[Print syndication|syndicated]] newspaper [[comic strip]] character with which Kane was also familiar,<ref>Kane, Andrae, p. 41.</ref> and that he devised the name Bruce Wayne for the character's secret identity. Finger said, "Bruce Wayne's first name came from [[Robert I of Scotland|Robert Bruce]], the [[Scottish people|Scottish]] patriot. Wayne, being a playboy, was a man of [[gentry]]. I searched for a name that would suggest colonialism. I tried Adams, Hancock&nbsp;... then I thought of [[Anthony Wayne|Mad Anthony Wayne]]."<ref name="me" /> Kane decades later in his autobiography described Finger as "a contributing force on Batman right from the beginning&nbsp;... I made Batman a superhero-vigilante when I first created him. Bill turned him into a scientific detective."<ref>Kane, Andrae, pp. 41–43.</ref> [[Marc Tyler Nobleman|Nobleman]] said, "Bob [Kane] showed Bat-Man to [editor] Vin [Sullivan]—without Bill. Vin promptly wanted to run Bat-Man, and Bob negotiated a deal—without including Bill."<ref>Nobleman, ''Bill the Boy Wonder'', p. 10 (unnumbered).</ref>

Finger wrote both the initial script for Batman's debut in ''[[Detective Comics]]'' #27 (May 1939) and the character's second appearance in ''Detective Comics'' #28 (June 1939), while Kane provided art.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Wallace|first1= Daniel|last2=Dolan|first2=Hannah, ed.|chapter= 1930s|title=DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|year=2010|location= London, United Kingdom|isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9|page= 24|quote=DC's second superstar debuted in the lead story of this issue, written by Bill Finger and drawn by Bob Kane, though the character was missing many of the elements that would make him a legend.}}</ref><ref name="Archives 3" /><ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/442/ ''Detective Comics'' #27] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906090658/https://www.comics.org/issue/442/ |date=September 6, 2017}} and [http://www.comics.org/issue/458/ #28] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906035641/https://www.comics.org/issue/458/ |date=September 6, 2017}} at the [[Grand Comics Database]].</ref> Batman proved a breakout hit, and Finger went on to write many of the early Batman stories, including making major contributions to the [[Joker (comics)|Joker]] character.<ref name=rocketllama>{{Cite web | url=http://www.rocketllama.com/blog-it/2009/07/21/interview-meet-the-jokers-maker-jerry-robinson/ | title= Interview: Meet the Joker's Maker, Jerry Robinson | publisher=RocketLlama.com | date=July 21, 2009 | access-date=March 2, 2013 | archive-date=September 25, 2012 | url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925123328/http://www.rocketllama.com/blog-it/2009/07/21/interview-meet-the-jokers-maker-jerry-robinson/}} Part 2, [http://www.rocketllama.com/blog-it/2009/08/05/interview-the-jokers-maker-tackles-the-man-who-laughs/ "Interview: The Joker's Maker Tackles The Man Who Laughs"], August 5, 2009. {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723035747/http://www.rocketllama.com/blog-it/2009/08/05/interview-the-jokers-maker-tackles-the-man-who-laughs/ |date=July 23, 2012}}.</ref> Batman background artist and [[letterer]] [[George Roussos]] recalled:
{{Blockquote | style=font-size:100% |What was good about Bill was that whenever he wrote a plot, he did a lot of research for it. Whether the setting was a railroad station or a factory, he would find a photo reference, usually from ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]'', and give Bob all the research to draw from. He was very orderly and methodical. His only problem was that he couldn't sustain the work&nbsp;... he couldn't produce material regularly enough.<ref>Roussos, George, in {{Cite news | author=Gruenwald, Mark | author-link=Mark Gruenwald | date=April 1983 | title=George Roussos | work=[[Comics Interview]] | issue=2 | pages=45–51 | publisher=[[Fictioneer Books]]}}</ref>}}

[[Dick Grayson|Robin]] was introduced as Batman's sidekick in ''Detective Comics'' #38 (April 1940).<ref>Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 31: "Writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane justified any hyperbole in this issue, for with the introduction of Robin, Batman's world changed forever."</ref> When Kane wanted Robin's origin to parallel Batman's, Finger made Robin's parents circus performers murdered while performing their trapeze act.<ref>Kane, Andrae, pp. 104–105.</ref> Finger recalled:
{{Blockquote | style=font-size:100% |Robin was an outgrowth of a conversation I had with Bob. As I said, Batman was a combination of [[Douglas Fairbanks]] and [[Sherlock Holmes]]. Holmes had his Watson. The thing that bothered me was that Batman didn't have anyone to talk to, and it got a little tiresome always having him thinking. I found that as I went along Batman needed a Watson to talk to. That's how Robin came to be. Bob called me over and said he was going to put a boy in the strip to identify with Batman. I thought it was a great idea".<ref name="jim" />}}

Comics historian [[Jim Steranko]] wrote in 1970 that Finger's slowness as a writer led Batman editor [[Whitney Ellsworth]] to suggest Kane replace him, a claim reflected in Joe Desris' description of Finger as "notoriously tardy".<ref name="Archives 3" /><ref name="Steranko, p. 45">Steranko, p. 45.</ref> During Finger's absence, [[Gardner Fox]] contributed scripts that introduced Batman's early "Bat-" arsenal (the utility belt, the Bat-gyro/-plane and the [[Batarang]]).<ref>Kane, Andrae, p. 103.</ref><ref>Daniels, p. 31.</ref> Upon his return, Finger is credited with providing the name "[[Gotham City]]".<ref name="Steranko, p. 45" /> Finger wrote the debut issue of Batman's [[Batman (comic book)|self-titled comic book]] series which introduced the [[Joker (comics)|Joker]] and the [[Catwoman]].<ref>Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 31: "The first issue of Batman's self-titled comic written by Bill Finger and drawn by Bob Kane, represented a milestone in more ways than one. With Robin now a partner to the Caped Crusader, villains needed to rise to the challenge, and this issue introduced two future legends: the Joker and Catwoman."</ref> Among the things that made his stories distinctive were a use of giant-sized props: enlarged pennies, sewing machines, or typewriters.<ref>Kane, Andrae, pp. 119–120.</ref><ref>Steranko, p. 49.</ref> Finger seemed to avoid having Batman operate out of a cave in the early stories, to circumvent being too similar to the Phantom and Zorro. Instead Finger indicated that Wayne merely used "underground hangars" on the property to store vehicles. The [[Batcave]] first appeared in the 1943 [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]] [[Batman (serial)|serial]] starring [[Lewis Wilson]] and the comics followed suit thereafter. [[Donald Clough Cameron]] created the concept of Batman having a trophy section in the Batcave. One of the prevalently featured trophies in Batman's Batcave, the giant replica of a [[Cent (United States coin)|Lincoln penny]], was introduced in a story written by Finger.<ref>Manning "1940s" in Dougall (2014), p. 39: ''World's Finest Comics'' #30 "Batman gained one of the most iconic trophies in his Batcave when he encountered the new villain dubbed the Penny Plunderer in this issue&nbsp;... artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger revealed how Batman added the giant penny to his intriguing collection."</ref> He was one of the writers of the syndicated ''[[Batman (comic strip)|Batman]]'' comic strip from 1943 to 1946.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.bailsprojects.com/bio.aspx?Name=FINGER%2c+BILL|title= Finger, Bill|first= Jerry|last= Bails|author-link= Jerry Bails|date= n.d.|work= Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070511085227/http://www.bailsprojects.com/bio.aspx?Name=FINGER%2c+BILL|archive-date= May 11, 2007|url-status= live|df= mdy-all}}</ref> 

Eventually, Finger left Kane's studio to work directly for DC Comics, where he supplied scripts for characters including Batman and [[Superman]]. A part of the Superman mythos which had originated on the [[The Adventures of Superman (radio)|radio program]] made its way into the comic books when [[kryptonite]] was featured in a story by Finger and [[Al Plastino]] in ''[[Superman (comic book)|Superman]]'' #61 (Nov. 1949).<ref>Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 61: "Kryptonite finally appeared in comics following its introduction in ''The Adventures of Superman'' radio show back in 1943. In a story by writer Bill Finger and artist Al Plastino&nbsp;... the Man of Steel determined that the cause of his weakness was a piece of meteorite rock."</ref> As writer of the ''[[Superboy (comic book)|Superboy]]'' series, Finger created [[Lana Lang]], a love-interest for the teenage superhero.<ref>[[Alexander C. Irvine|Irvine, Alex]] "1950s" in Dolan, p. 65: "Superboy met the girl next door in ''Superboy'' #10, when the spunky redhead Lana Lang made her first appearance. In a story written by Bill Finger, with art by John Sikela, Lana quickly became infatuated with her Smallville neighbor, Clark Kent."</ref> Continuing his Batman work, he and artist [[Sheldon Moldoff]] introduced [[Ace the Bat-Hound]] in ''Batman'' #92 (June 1955),<ref>Irvine "1950s" in Dolan, p. 77: "Once Superman had a dog, Batman got one too, in "Ace, the Bat-Hound!" In the story by writer Bill Finger and artist Sheldon Moldoff, Batman and Robin found a German Shepherd called Ace."</ref> [[Bat-Mite]] in ''Detective Comics'' #267 (May 1959),<ref>Irvine "1950s" in Dolan, p. 94: "The impish Bat-Mite made his first appearance in ''Detective Comics'' #267, care of writer Bill Finger and artist Sheldon Moldoff."</ref> [[Clayface#Matt Hagen|Clayface]] in ''Detective Comics'' #298 (December 1961),<ref>McAvennie, Michael "1960s" in Dolan, p. 103: "Scribe Bill Finger and artist Sheldon Moldoff reshaped the face of evil with the second&nbsp;— and perhaps most recognized&nbsp;— Clayface ever to challenge the Dark Knight."</ref> and [[Bette Kane|Betty Kane]], the original [[Batgirl|Bat-Girl]] in ''Batman'' #139 (April 1961).<ref>McAvennie, Michael "1960s" in Dolan, p. 102: "Young Betty Kane assumed the costumed identity of Bat-Girl in this tale by writer Bill Finger and artist Sheldon Moldoff."</ref> Finger wrote for other companies, including [[Fawcett Comics]], [[Quality Comics]] and [[Marvel Comics]]' 1940s predecessor, [[Timely Comics]].<ref>{{Grand Comics Database search|type=credit|search= Bill+Finger|title= Bill Finger}}</ref> Finger created the [[All-Winners Squad]] in ''[[All Winners Comics]]'' #19 (Fall 1946) for Timely.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.toonopedia.com/allwinnr.htm|title= The All Winners Squad|first= Don |last= Markstein|date= 2008|publisher= [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]|archive-url= https://archive.today/20120914085620/http://www.toonopedia.com/allwinnr.htm|archive-date= September 14, 2012|url-status= live|df= mdy-all}}</ref>